INSPECTOR Morse fans from around the globe could have a share in a statue of the famous sleuth's creator.

Next weekend a £50,000 memorial fund is to be launched to help pay for a statue of Colin Dexter, who died in March at the age of 86.

The author, whose 13 Morse novels inspired the Inspector Morse, Lewis and Endeavour TV series, lived in North Oxford and the statue is likely to be erected nearby once it is completed.

Plans first emerged for the tribute, which could feature a crossword at the base in memory of Mr Dexter's passion for the puzzles, following Mr Dexter's death, proposed by Dr Anthony Richards, chairman of the Inspector Morse Society.

Members of the society will attend an annual meeting next weekend and Dr Richards said the memorial fund would be launched then.

He said: "Members of the society will gather in Oxford and there will be dinners at St Edmund Hall and at the Ashmolean Museum's rooftop restaurant.

"During the weekend we will launch a £50,000 memorial fund to cover the costs of the statue.

"We have several hundred members and they will be asked to buy shares for £1 each to launch the fundraising.

"Members of the public are, of course, invited to join in the fundraising by visiting our website from that weekend to buy shares.

"The statue itself could cost £25,000 while the plinth and engraving could cost a further £25,000.

"Colin was held in great affection by the public and the TV dramas inspired by his stories have brought so many visitors to Oxford over the years so I think a statue would be a very fitting tribute."

Kennington-based sculptor Alex Wenham has volunteered to create the permanent tribute and Dr Richards has discussed the proposal with Oxford City Council leader Bob Price.

The preferred location for the statue is Diamond Place in Summertown, which is due to be redeveloped.

A masterplan drawn up by the city council includes shops, homes, additional parking places and an enlarged Ferry Leisure Centre at the site not far from Mr Dexter's Banbury Road home.

Mr Wenham, a big fan of Mr Dexter's novels, has won several international industry prizes.

Dr Richards said he hoped the statue could be in place by 2019 or 2020, provided it gets planning permission.

The 55-year-old is also hoping to raise funds from the sale of his novel Dead Man's Walk, an Inspector Morse-inspired story set in the 1970s, which he was encouraged to write by Mr Dexter as fan fiction.

The society chairman is planning to publish the novel through his own publishing company, The Irregular Special Press, this autumn.

He added: "I expect Dead Man's Walk will go on sale for £8.99 and part of the proceeds of each novel will go towards the memorial fund."

Dr Richards is also hoping that ITV – which produced the three Morse-inspired dramas – and Macmillan – which publishes the Inspector Morse novels – will contribute towards the cost of the statue.

Visit inspector-morse.com from September 15 to buy shares in the memorial fund.